Under the revised Judge Act, federally regulated judges appointed to provincial superior court will have to take training related to sexual assault law and social context. "Judges must ensure that personal or societal biases, myths and stereotypes do not influence judicial decision-making. This requires that judges understand the social context in which they hear matters and the factors that may affect engagement with the justice system."
May 19, 2021
Healthcare Professionals Corssing Borders releases spring edition
Healthcare Professionals Crossing Borders has released their spring edition, featuring:
- January 1, 2021 legislation allowing UK healthcare professional regulators to continue recognizing European qualifications for a period of up to two years, as well as a new Trade and Cooperation Agreement that allows for a mutual recognition agreement and an agreed application framework
- Partial access ("allows a regulated professional from one country to undertake a limited range of activities of another regulated profession, when their original profession does not exist in the country of service") applies to healthcare professions also
- UK General Pharmaceutical Council's new standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists
- European Court of Justice case ruling the protection of "the dignity of the health profession" as a valid justification underpinning professional regulation.
April 28, 2021
Pennsylvania: results from veteran and military spouse occupational licensing survey
The Pennsylvania Department of State has released results from a survey of veterans and military spouses about occupational licensing issues. The survey indicated that "translating military credentials and work experience to satisfy state occupational license requirements poses a significant barrier to veterans." Respondents indicated a desire for easier acceptance of military training, education and experience, as well as waiver of fess, when applying for occupational licensure. A military occupational crosswalk is in development to guide licensing boards in converting military experience to licensure requirements. The report also recommends increasing veterans and military spouse representation on licensing boards, expediting review of military licensure applications, and allowing veterans to be licensed by examination.
March 31, 2021
FSMB launches Task Force on Health Equity and Medical Regulation
The Federation of State Medical Boards has established a task force to "evaluate education and training programs to assist state medical and osteopathic boards in identifying opportunities for understanding and addressing systemic racism, implicit bias, and health inequity in medical regulation and patient care." The task force will conduct a literature review on implicit bias, systemic racism and health equity in medical regulation; identify current state medical board initiatives around implicit bias; work towards creation of a public-facing platform with educational resources for addressing implicit bias in medical regulation; and engage with professional medical associations, academia, government, and regulatory agencies to include a state regulatory perspective in the discussions.
A member of the task force, Marlon Brown with Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, delivered a webinar for CLEAR about Michigan's Executive Order requiring implicit bias training for all licensed healthcare professionals. A recording of the presentation is available.
UK Department of Health and Social Care publishes proposed changes to healthcare regulation
The UK Department of Health and Social Care has published proposed changes to healthcare regulation and opened a public consultation. The aim of the reform is to make healthcare professional regulation "faster, fairer, and more flexible and to minimize costs to registrants." The consultation includes "detailed proposals to modernize each of the healthcare professional regulators' legislative frameworks." The proposed reforms cover four key areas: governance and operating framework, education and training, registration, and fitness to practice.
Just a few highlights:
- devolve many of the decisions about day to day procedures to the regulators themselves
- create a duty to co-operate, specific duties in relation to transparency, and a duty to assess the proportionality of changes to rules and procedures before they are introduced
- power for all regulators to set their fees without Parliamentary oversight
- power to set standards for and approve specific courses or programs of training rather than just the providers
- a consistent framework for fitness to practice across all regulators
- regulation of physician associates and anesthesia associates
Julie Maciura with Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc offers analysis and commentary on the consultation paper in the April issue of Grey Areas
March 17, 2021
Law Society of Alberta continues flexible articling requirements
The Law Society of Alberta has re-approved for 2021-2022 an April 2020 rule amendment that set the articling term for students at a minimum of eight months and a maximum of twelve months. The amendment will be reviewed again at the end of 2021. The Law Society is also working with the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education on details of an accelerated bar admission program, in which students will complete their PREP program before beginning their articling.
CPSO temporarily waives independent practice registration exam
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has approved an exemption from the Medical Council of Canada's Qualifying Exam Part 2 for applicants meeting certain criteria. CPSO will issue an independent practice certificate of registration for applicants who were eligible for the May 2020, October 2020, or February 2021 MCCQE2 if they were also registered in Ontario at the time and within 24 months of completing postgraduate training. The policy may be extended as needed if future exam dates are also cancelled.
March 10, 2021
NCSBN publishes environmental scan on COVID's impact on nursing regulation
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing has released an "Environmental Scan COVID-19 and Its Impact on Nursing and Regulation." The report gives data on the global nursing workforce and the US nursing workforce, including a steady rise in the number of individuals graduating from nursing programs since 2010. The report stresses that "COVID-19 has demonstrated an even greater need for workforce data collection, planning, and mobility. In the future, researchers, policymakers, and public health planners will expect that state and national workforce databases will help deploy nurses in future emergencies to areas of need. Pressure may increase on BONs to add workforce data collection to the licensure renewal process."
The report also details a September 2020 survey of boards of nursing about nursing education and solutions to replace clinical experiences during the pandemic. The report encourages regulators to review changes to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's "Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education" and the competency-based education model.
March 04, 2021
Illinois: inaugural class graduates from Department of Juvenile Justice cosmetology program
The first class of students has completed the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice's Barber and Cosmetology Training Program and are now eligible to take the state licensing exam. In addition to teaching the required curriculum for barbering and cosmetology, the training program also include life coaching classes, mentorship, and other life skill training. The Department's 21st Century Transformation Model aims to reduce the harm of incarceration and focus on rehabilitation, including preparing youth for the return to the workforce with programs such as this.
February 18, 2021
Mississippi bills consider reduced occupational licensing requirements
Bills under consideration in the Mississippi House and Senate include changes to licensing requirements. One bill would remove requirements for nurse practitioners to have a collaborative agreement with a physician in order to treat patients. Other bills would implement a license recognition program where licensing boards would recognize occupational licenses obtained in other states if the applicant was in good standing for at least one year or if an applicant worked in the occupation for at least three years in a state that did not require licensure. Another bill would remove the one-year postdoctoral fellowship requirement for psychologists.
